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Need new way of attaching curtains to canopy
I am looking for some new way of attaching curtains to my booth. I have a Show-Off canopy. The horizontal bars up at the roof line are very thick in diameter: probably 1 ¾ or 2”. I can’t just sew a big rod pocket and slip them on the bars, because I hang my grid racks from them using bungee cords. I usually hang the curtains between 2 ft wide grid panels; but some times I hang them behind, etc. I have been threading the curtains onto a curtain spring rod, then using ball bungees to attach the ends of the spring rods to the canopy bars. This ends up resulting in a lot of fumbling around, trying to hold the rod with the curtain in the right place, then wrap the ball bungee around with one hand (on top of a ladder, no less. The grids can’t be hung til the canopy is raised, thus I won’t know where the curtains are going til after the grids are hung). The rod will slip; the ball bungee will snap away from me…you get the picture.
(The spring rods have the advantage that they can expand from 2 feet to almost 4 feet, so they have versatility: I can load 1 or 3 curtains onto them. I’d like to keep those if I can, it’s hanging or attaching them that is the problem. )
I never have enough time for my set up as it is, and I’m by myself. Half the time I just let them go, as I’m in too much of a time crunch to make my booth look really attractive.
What would make this much easier would be a very short hook with a large enough loop to go over the 2” canopy bar. (Shower curtain hooks have too small a diameter to go over) It can’t be a long hook; I don’t want the curtain rods to hang much below the canopy bars. Or, a ring of about 3” in diameter, that I could slip over the canopy bars before I assemble it.
There has to be an easier way, that I’m not thinking of. Ideas? Thanks!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Amy Ikenn on -
I have found "S" shaped shower curtain hooks that fit over my trimline. If you really want to slide rings over the bar look at JoAnn Fabrics (that's where I found them) for rings with a clamp attached. I like the look of the rings better, but I have to admit it's hard to remember to put them on as i build the canopy.
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Permalink Reply by Linnea Lahlum on -
Amy, where did you find those S hooks that will fit over? I assume the Trimline also has large diameter bars? Hooks would be more practical that the rings, for the same reasons you mention, among others. Thanks!
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Permalink Reply by Ruth Finkenbiner on -
Have you tried bungie cords? We made our own using a spool of bungie rope with hooks we added, that way we could make sure they were taunt enough to not sag, unlike some of the commerical ones we could have purchased. We fasten the hooks to our Light Dome without a problem.
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Permalink Reply by Linnea Lahlum on
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regular bungee cords are no easier to use than the ball bungees. A bit too obvious, too. But the hooks sound interesting. I thought about sewing hooks onto some thick nonstretchy cotton strapping. Where did you find the hooks, Ruth? Thanks!
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Permalink Reply by Ruth Finkenbiner on
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We bought the bungie cord in bulk and small metal hooks that fit on the ends at Lowe's, I don't really find them hard to deal with. I leave them strung through the curtain top, hook one side and then the other. We have the bungie cords really taut so the curtain don't droop. They hook into our Light Dome poles without a problem.
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Permalink Reply by Cindi Hendrickson on -
Ruth, I use bungees also and have no problems. My curtains are light weight sheers.....and the bungees are similar color so they don't show through the fabric. I leave the bungees in the curtains and put them all in a box for storage.
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Permalink Reply by Linnea Lahlum on
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Took me a minute to figure out what you meant. You are running the cords through horizontally and attaching them to the top end of the canopy legs? I’m using short sections of curtains, not running all the way across the inside of the canopy, so I’m not sure how I’d do that.
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Permalink Reply by Ruth Finkenbiner on
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yes, our curtains cover the entire inside of the canopy, 10 feet wide, 8 feet tall so the bungies are a great solution for that situation.
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Permalink Reply by andrea bernstein on -
I'm with you you. Two, four foot bungees with large hooks work every time! Get them at Home Depot It's a snap!
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Permalink Reply by Linnea Lahlum on
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I guess (thinking out loud here), even if I don’t run the curtains all the way across, I could still run the bungees all the way across. Then space out the position of the curtains between the racks. My grid racks hang from the horizontal bars, also hung with (short vertical) bungees though. I figured horizontal bungees would get in the way of the ones the racks are hanging from, but maybe not.
So a 4 foot bungee is a good length to stretch the 10 feet between the legs? I should just buy a few, and test them out at my next show. (I don’t want to make anything, until I know this will work.)
How are all of you fastening these? Obviously the bungee hooks are too small to hook onto the leg. Just looping the bungee around the leg, and hooking it onto itself? No problem with zipping down the sides with this in place? You said “large hooks,” Andrea. I’ve never see bungees with hooks big enough to go over the canopy leg. These must be different.
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Permalink Reply by andrea bernstein on
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My tent is 10'. I use 2 four four foot bungees attached from the leg to the middle "X"and the other from the center "X" to the opposite leg. As i have done go in your backyard and set it up if you can't visualize it.:)
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